


Dark Spirits

by rumpledspinster



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), ouat
Genre: F/M, Louisiana Voodoo vibe, Spooky, forest haunted by the ghosts of formerly suicidal living, trip to an underworld type landscape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 02:51:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8384422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rumpledspinster/pseuds/rumpledspinster
Summary: A Rumbelle Revelry gift for Applejackcat based on the prompts: not of this world, gruesome, and doll :)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [applejackcat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/applejackcat/gifts).



> A Rumbelle Revelry gift for Applejackcat based on the prompts: not of this world, gruesome, and doll :)

Robert Gold sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He had just finished inventory on a box full of things that he had purchased at an estate sale. He smiled to himself, pleased with some of the excellent pieces he had found in the mystery box. Of course, there were a few other things in the box that were worthless as far as he was concerned. Oh well, in the trash they go. 

“Are you ready to head home?” Belle’s voice was like the tinkling of the shop’s bell as she let it fall closed behind her. 

Robert turned and smiled. “Just as soon as I throw this stuff in to the dumpster.” He handed her the box. They left the shop and he locked up behind them. They made their way to the Cadillac parked in the back alley and he motioned to Belle to hand him the box so that he could put it in the dumpster. 

Belle moved to hand it to him but stopped short. “Aww. This doll is sort of cute. I’m going to rescue it.”

 

Robert rolled his eyes. “It’s far from cute.”

Belle handed him the box and snatched the doll from within it. “It has homespun charm.”

Robert sighed, “If you say so.”

 

They headed home and had dinner. Robert showered and put on his pajamas and headed back down stairs for a cup of tea with Belle before bed. Robert had just entered the kitchen when he heard Belle giggle in triumph. “What have you been up to?” 

Belle turned and held out the doll she had ‘rescued’. It’s yarn hair was now in a tidy braid and it wore a dress that looked familiar to Robert. “Where did you get the fabric for its dress?”

Belle smiled proudly. “You remember that shirt that I loved that got spotted with ink? Well I repurposed the good parts of it.” Belle waggled the doll in front of his face. “Isn’t she adorable?”

 

Robert looked at the doll and strangely enough he now began to see a resemblance to Belle. From the doll’s auburn hair to her blue stitching on her button eyes. It really was a cute doll after all.

“I stand corrected. She is cute.”

Belle smiled broadly. “I told you she was. And you wanted to throw her away.”

***

Belle had brought the doll by the shop one day as they met for lunch and suggested that he keep it in the shop as a reminder to think about her throughout the day. Robert had laughed as he placed the doll on the shelf behind the glass counter. “I don’t need a doll for that.” He took her into his arms and kissed her passionately. “My body thinks about you constantly.”

Belle gave a breathy sigh and melted into his embrace. Finally, she pushed him away gently. “I need to go open the library.” Robert grunted in annoyance. “Nobody in this town reads besides you and I.” Belle giggled, “But perhaps this is the day that they decide to and I’m not at my post.”

Robert smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “Very well my valiant little librarian. Go forth and spread literature.”

Belle smiled and headed out of the shop and across the street. Robert followed her to the door and turned the closed sign to open. 

No sooner had he turned away and headed back toward the display case, the shop bell rang announcing a customer. “Can I help you?”

He turned to see an older gentleman who was small of stature, portly, and with a very receding hairline. “Well, an associate of mine, a Dr. Facilier, passed away not too long ago and I was told that you purchased some things from his estate.” The portly man scanned the shop with his small beady eyes. “He had a talisman. A carved wood figure on a leather strap that he wore as a necklace. Perhaps it is one of the items you purchased?”

Gold considered the man for a moment before answering, “I’m afraid it wasn’t.”

The man licked his lips, “I would pay you handsomely for it.”

Gold shooed the man with a wave of his hand. “As I said, it wasn’t one of the items that I purchased.”

The man looked down trodden as he turned and made his way to the door. As his hand touched the knob, he stopped and turned back toward Gold one last time. “Do you have any of his voodoo items? I will pay you more than fairly for them.”

 

Gold seemed momentarily shocked at the man’s words. Voodoo items? Gold shook off the confusion and answered quickly, “I don’t.” With that said he all but shoved the man out of the shop and shut the door behind him. Gold grabbed a rag and some glass cleaner. He wet the rag with the cleaner and began to clean off the counter. As he cleaned away all the fingerprints he thought about what the portly man had said. There had been some odd, seemingly worthless things in the box he had purchased, but he couldn’t believe that any of them had magical abilities. He supposed that voodoo was one of those things that only held power if you believed in that sort of thing, placing it in the same category as superstitions. As he turned to replace the cleaner and rag on the shelf, he accidently knocked the doll that Belle had left with him off her shelf. She tumbled toward the floor hitting the back of her head on a stool as she made her descent. Gold picked the doll up and replaced it on the shelf. As he looked at the doll on the shelf he couldn’t help but feel a chill go down his spine. What if… no. Gold shook his head as he mentally chastised himself. The doll was fabric and stuffing and nothing more. Still, it couldn’t hurt to check in on Belle. Gold turned the sign to closed and headed across the street to the library. The library was quiet save for the light tinkling of classical music coming from Belle’s office. Gold headed that way in hopes that Belle would be there. As he rounded the corner and the first glimpse of her office came into view, Gold gasped in shock. He could see Belle’s legs sprawled out behind the desk with her shoes hanging off her feet. “Belle!” He rounded the desk quickly and fell to his knees at Belle’s side. She was laying on her back on the cold tile floor with her eyes closed. His hands fluttered helplessly for a moment as he was unsure of what to do. He brushed the hair from her face and repeated her name “Belle, can you hear me? I need you to open your eyes sweetheart. Oh gods please open your eyes!” 

Belle’s eyes fluttered open only for her to squeeze them shut and grimace in pain. “My head… it hurts.” She tried to sit up, but he stopped her with a gentle, but firm hand. “Stay still sweetheart. I’m going to call an ambulance. You may have hurt your neck and I don’t want you to injure yourself any further.”

Gold called for an ambulance. As they waited for it to arrive he kept Belle talking. “What happened?” He asked her as he caressed her face with his hand and rubbed back and forth on her cheek with his thumb. Belle gave a breathy sigh, “It’s the strangest thing. I had just gotten up from my desk and was headed back toward the circulation desk when suddenly I fell backward and hit the back of my head on the edge of the desk. It was as if I were pushed. I was fine one moment and then suddenly I was falling.”

Gold gulped. It couldn’t be the doll, could it? Of course not. There was nothing exceptionally noteworthy about the doll, except the coincidence of it falling and Belle falling at roughly the same time. 

 

Belle was taken to the hospital and thoroughly checked out. When it seemed that there was nothing more than bruises and sore muscles, Gold was allowed to take her home. 

“Thank goodness it wasn’t more serious than it was.” Robert Gold sighed as he helped Belle into the living room and to the couch. 

Belle just sighed as she made herself comfortable. “I just don’t understand how I fell in the first place.”

Robert felt that creeping feeling once more that perhaps there was more to it than just an accident. He and Belle had a light dinner and she went to bed. Robert stayed up a bit longer and did a little research on his computer. 

He thought for a moment as the screen shone back at him. Let’s start with Dr. Facilier. Robert typed his name into the search engine and waited. The first article that caught his eye was one that was written by a woman referred to as Queen “Mama” Odie. In it she warned that Dr. Facilier was a man of malcontent and that he should be exiled from the Louisiana Voodoo community. Robert felt the air rush out of his lungs. So, the guy had been some sort of dark magician. Robert looked to the bottom of the article for contact information. He found a phone number and dialed it. A kind sounding woman’s voice answered. Robert swallowed, “I’m sorry to be calling you so late, but I read your article on Dr. Facilier and… well, I purchased some things from his estate and… I’m really in need of some guidance.” Mama Odie answered in a soothing voice, “You needn’t apologize chile (long I and silent e). I felt the spirits themselves asking me to answer the phone. Even now I feel you may be in more trouble than you know. Tell me, what has happened. Every detail.”

Robert felt on the verge of tears as he fought the anxious tension in his chest. Robert recounted to Mama Odie the contents of the box, how Belle had saved the doll and made it a dress from her favorite shirt, about the day in the shop, and that Belle had fell at the exact same time and injured herself in the exact same way. “That can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

Mama Odie’s voice was serious as she answered, “No. It is no coincidence. The man you know as Dr. Facilier is no doctor. In our religion, Queens and Doctors fight against red magic. We stop it before it starts if we can. We strive to be good and charitable in all that we do. Facilier was a bokor. A shadow man. He made himself a servant to dark spirits and he lost himself to them completely. The doll that your Belle took still holds the energy and purpose that it was given by its creator. When she named the doll as an image of herself and attached her possession upon it, she made herself a target to the creator’s intentions.”

Robert was gripping the phone hard as he held it shakingly to his ear. “You said he was an evil man, so that means the doll is going to cause terrible things to happen to Belle?”

Mama Odie tried to comfort him through the phone, “Try not to be frightened chile. I will get on a red eye flight and be with you as soon as I can. We will cleanse the doll and hopefully that will be the end of the red magic he has left working in his wake.” She gave him her cell phone number and said that she would be in touch. 

Robert hung up the phone and felt as if he may faint. How had all of this happened? It all seemed so unreal. He checked in on Belle and saw that she was sound asleep. Perhaps he should join her. He thought about changing into his pajama pants, but changed his mind. He was far too stressed to sleep. He made himself a pot of tea and poured himself a cup. It had begun to rain outside and Robert found himself starring at the trail the rain drops left as they ran down the glass of the window. He was started awake sometime later by a text from Mama Odie. She was on a flight and should be with him in about three hours. He tried to take a cleansing breath. Good. Perhaps this would all be over soon and he and Belle would be able to move on from it. Belle. Robert sighed as he thought about how he was going to explain this all to Belle. She had always been the practical one. She would often chastise him by saying ‘stop thinking zebras every time you here hoof beats’. She would probably roll her eyes when she woke up and he introduced her  
to Mama Odie. Still, Robert would rather be safe than sorry.   
It was just after 5 am when Mama Odie arrived at the pink Victorian home that Robert and Belle shared. She was small, smaller than Belle and looked to be very old, yet you wouldn’t know it by the strength in her arms and the way that she moved. He was glad that he had heard her taxi drive up in the rain as he took in the many things she was carrying in her full arms. The strangest of which was a chicken in a small wooden cage. Robert helped her in and to put her things down. He hung up her dripping wet cloak and finally asked as the curiosity was beginning to get to him. “What’s the chicken for?” Mama Odie sighed, “Hopefully we won’t need her.”

At Mama Odie’s urging, Gold brought out the doll in question and laid it carefully on the kitchen table. Mama Odie sent him out of the room while she spoke in whispered tones and burned herbs. She carefully removed the additions that Belle had made to the doll and placed the now cleansed doll into her bag. She called out to Robert, “The doll is cleansed chile. It is neutral, as it should have always been.” Robert sighed in relief. 

“I would still like to see your Belle if I may?” Robert nodded, “I would like you to see her too. Just in case…well, I don’t want any of the red magic you talked about still affecting her.”

“Neither do I chile.” 

Robert made his way up the stairs to the bedroom he and his wife shared. He took her in for a moment before he crossed the room. She was laying on her back and was still. She must have been more tired than he knew because his Belle tended to roll and end up in the middle of the bed when she slept.

He crossed the floor to their high bed and brushed the hair from her face. “Belle, sweetheart wake up.” He expected her to pout or try to roll over, but she simply lay their completely unresponsive. “Belle?” he shook her and when that seemed to do no good he went to their bathroom and retrieved a wet wash cloth and began to wash her face. When even that failed to wake her, terror took control. “Belle! Wake up!”

Mama Odie was in the room in a flash (she moved fast for someone who looked so old). “Step away chile. Let me look at your Belle.”

Mama Odie approached the bed and pulled the blanket down all the way. She placed her hands out and held them about an inch over Belle’s body and closed her eyes. She stood in silence for a moment before she opened her eyes and placed a hand on Belle’s forehead. She turned to Robert with a grave look on her face. “This little sister’s ti bon ange has been stolen.”

Robert stood in frozen dread. He didn’t even know what her words meant, but he knew that it wasn’t good. “Come with me chile. We must act quickly.” 

He followed her downstairs and into the kitchen. Mama Odie picked up the chicken cage and sighed. “I’ll be needing you tonight honored one.” Robert didn’t know what was happening, but he also didn’t want to interrupt so he simply sat down at the kitchen table and watched. 

Mama Odie spoke to the chicken in a whispered tone. Robert heard her use the words thank you, sacrifice, and spirit as she lifted the chicken out of the crate by the neck. She took the struggling chicken to the sink and with her back obstructing his view, broke its neck. She grabbed for a nearby bowl, setting it in the bottom of the sink, and then with a nearby knife she quickly slit the animal’s throat and began to collect the blood. She held onto its feet as the blood drained into the bowl, and with her other hand she made quick work of the feathers. Robert couldn’t help but marvel at her skill and speed. “Chile, there are vegetables in my bag. Wash and cut them into chunks please.” Robert did as she asked and by the time he was done with all the vegetables, Mama Odie had butchered the chicken completely, placing the meat and organs into two separate bowls. She then retrieved a large pot that she had brought with her and placed the meat and vegetables within and covered them with water. She put it on the stove, turned on the heat and placed a lid upon it. “Now then chile, get me a skillet, salt and pepper, and flour.” Robert did as she asked and she set to work melting some of the chicken fat. She then seasoned the heart, gizzards, and liver of the chicken before dredging them in flour and frying them. In no time at all they were cooked and she set them on a paper towel lined plate to cool. 

Mama Odie took a seat at the table across from Robert and began to speak. 

“Now then chile. Each of us has two spirits that live within us; the ti bon ange and the gros bon ange. The gros bon ange is the life force within us all. The ti bon ange is what makes us who we are. It is our personality. When we sleep, it leaves us and returns when we awake. The doll has attracted the same dark spirits that Facilier served and they have stolen your Belle’s ti bon ange.”

Robert felt as if he couldn’t breathe as he struggled to process all that he was hearing. “So, they’ve taken her soul?”

Mama Odie took a breath and answered. “Your Belle is in what the medical profession would call a coma. There is a window where her body can continue to sustain itself without machines and if her ti bon ange can return to her, she will wake and all will be well. However, there are times when the ti bon ange cannot return and that is when the medical profession would call a person brain dead.”

Robert sat in silent shock as Mama Odie served him the fried innards and checked on the soup. Robert ate what was set before him as if on autopilot. “Now then chile, if you are ready we shall go and try to bring your Belle back to the world of the living.”

Robert nodded, “What must we do?”

Mama Odie took a deep breath. “We have honored the chicken’s sacrifice by putting its body to good use, and because of this the chicken’s spirit has been sent up as a sacrifice to Papa Legba. He is the gate keeper. He watches over the divide between the mortal realm and the spirit world. We will petition him to allow us to speak with Madam Brigitte. She is the Queen of the Spirit World. We will then need to put up an offering to her to show our reverence and thanks for the help she is going to give us.”

Robert listened carefully, “What sort of offering do we need to make? And what help is she going to give us?”

Mama Odie considered, “She’s fond of black coffee, she enjoys red wine, I’ve heard she likes scotch, and her favorite color is purple. As for help, if she is moved by our plight, it is my hope that she will take your ti bon ange to the spirit world and assist you in rescuing your Belle.”

Robert stood up. “I’ll start a pot of coffee.”

****

After some mad dashing around the house, Robert had set up a table in his and Belle’s bedroom and covered it in offerings to Madam Brigitte. There was a cup of strong black coffee, a bottle of aged Scotch, a glass of red wine, and a dark purple silk tie. 

Mama Odie bid Robert to lay on the bed next to Belle. Robert did so and grasped Belle’s still hand within his own. Mama Odie then told him to close his eyes and take slow deep breaths. As he did so she raised her hands and spoke. She petitioned Papa Legba to carry her message to Madam Brigitte into the spirit world. She then petitioned Madam Brigitte directly. She spoke of Robert’s love for Belle and stated that only Madam Brigitte’s husband, the Baron Samedi, can approve a person’s death and that the dark spirits that stole Belle’s soul away were challenging that power. 

 

All at once Mama Odie’s voice seemed to melt away and Robert felt as if he were sinking into the bed. It was as if the bed had become butter that was slowly melting beneath him until all at once he felt himself come to rest. He opened his eyes and saw a strange sky of red and orange hues above him. He felt at his sides and found that he seemed to be lying in a pile of leaves. Robert sat up and took in his surroundings more fully. He now saw that he seemed to be sitting in a dream like interpretation of Storybrooke cemetery. He had barely had a chance to think about what all of this could mean before he heard a voice coming from a nearby tree.

“Glad to see ye getting up wean. Ye looked a bit peely-wally there fer a moment.” The voice came from a beautiful woman who was sitting up in the limbs of the tree. She hopped down lightly in a black and green tartan dress with a purple sash belt, her dark red hair swirling about her head as she made her descent to the ground. 

Robert simply stared for a moment, unnerved to see someone else in this dream like place. Finally, he managed to stutter, “You…you’re Scottish.”

The woman laughed, “Aye, and so are ye. What of it?”

Robert blinked in confusion, “Who are you?”

The woman held her hand out to help Robert to stand up. “Well it just so happens that I am Madam Brigitte, Queen of the Spirit World.”

Robert took her hand and stood before simply muttering, “But…you’re Scottish.”

Madam Brigitte rolled her eyes. “Come on wean. We need to be goin if we’re going to save your bonnie lass. If we wait too long, then the outlook is goin ta be as dark as the Earl of Hell’s waist coat.”

Robert took her hand and let her lead him toward the forest on the edge of the cemetery. “Why do you call me wean when I look older than you?”

Madam Brigitte laughed, “Looks aren’t everything ye ken. I was around long before ye were a gleam in yer ma’s eye.”

Robert shook his head as if the action would help him to make sense of everything. This place was so surreal and it was a bit of a shock to find out that the Queen of the spirit world is Scottish. 

They reached the edge of the forest and Madam Brigitte stopped and looked warily at the trees before turning to Robert. “The path we must take is a treacherous one. The trees in this forest are inhabited by the restless spirits of those who have taken their own lives in despair and have yet to find peace. They will try to trick and confuse us, but we mustn’t let them.”

Robert nodded and followed Madam Brigitte into the dense, dark forest. 

“Where are we headed?” He asked as they carefully made their way between the trees that were far too close together for comfort. 

Madam Brigitte turned her head slightly to answer him as they continued to make their way through the darkening forest of strange trees that seemed to whisper to each other, though he couldn’t make out their words. “There’s a castle of sorts in the middle of this wood, where dark spirits reside. I believe they are holding yer love there.” Madam Brigitte noticed that Robert seemed to be distracted, “Don’t be listening too closely to the whispers. The things they say aren’t worth hearing.” Robert nodded, but he couldn’t help but listen just a little. At first all he could hear were words coming at him from different directions. Worthless, hopeless, friendless, alone… But as they continued to make their way through the wood, the voices seemed to become one voice, Belle’s voice. She seemed to be whispering to him from just behind him, “I was a fool to ever love you. You bring nothing but heartache. You belong to the darkness. You’ve failed me. I hate you. Worthless, hopeless, friendless… you’ll end up alone.” Robert felt himself becoming weighed down by the words as if they were heavy chains. He struggled to keep up with Brigitte, only to trip on one of the many twisted tree roots under foot.

Brigitte turned and held out her hand to him. “What did I say about the whispers? Fer crying out loud wean!” He took her hand and she pulled him up to his feet. “Up ye git my wee barra.” He felt tears welling in his eyes as she pulled him into a hug. She whispered in his ear, “Just because something is said doesn’t make it truth.” She wiped the tears from his eyes with a soft purple handkerchief the she pulled from a hidden pocket in her dress. “The voice you heard wasn’t that of your love, but I want you to imagine for a moment that it was. If she had said those things, would you love her any less? Would you leave her in this dark place?” Robert thought for a moment. If Belle had said those things to his face, with vitriol dripping from every word, he would still love her. Robert doubted that there was a force in existence that could cause him to stop loving her. “I would still love her, and I would never leave her in need.”

Brigitte smiled at him. “That’s the only truth that you need to know.”

 

As the path became more difficult, they begin to see wisps of light darting to and fro in the distance. Brigitte released Robert’s hand. “The way we must go is only goin ta git rougher. So, keep the heid and follow close behind me.” She began to lead him once more, muttering over her shoulder, “There are will-o’-the-wisps about. Don’t let them distract ye, and don’t follow them.”

Robert followed her instructions. Indeed, the path seemed to be against them as they continued forward. The wisps would flit in his peripheral as dancing balls of colorful light determined to get his attention, and the forest floor was covered in gnarled tree roots that jutted out begging to trip them. Many times, Robert and Brigitte had to steady themselves with a hand on a nearby tree. 

“How will we rescue her when we get there?” Robert’s voice was apprehensive. 

Brigitte seemed to consider his question for a moment. “Once we’re there we’ll come up with somthin’.” Brigitte turned and saw the fear and despair in Robert’s face. Her face softened, “Chin up wean. It’s a lang road that’s no goat a turnin’. You and yer bonnie lass are true love.” Brigitte took his hand in hers once more, “Whit’s fer ye’ll no go past ye. Ye must believe that.”

All at once a menacing cottage seemed to appear before them. It stood on the stumps of four trees that each had thick roots that gripped at the ground, giving the appearance of great chicken legs. All around the strange cottage were sharp wooden stakes decorated with dangling bones that rattled in the wind like a macabre wind chime, and topped with gaping skulls with empty eye sockets that gave off eerie green glows. Brigitte seemed to consider the terrifying structure for a moment, before turning to Robert. “This is the home of Baba Yaga, a very powerful and very touchy sorceress. She could be very helpful to ye on yer journey, that is if she doesn’t decide to kill ya.”

Robert gulped. Brigitte sensed his very visible discomfort and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You are on a mission of love, and as such you are blessed. That will offer you much in the way of protection. Just remember to be polite. Oh, and don’t ask questions, only answer them. If we are lucky, she will be moved by your plight and will offer us assistance.”

Robert gulped yet again. “Y-you’re not going in with me?”

Brigitte sighed, “No laddie. I believe you stand a better chance with me waiting out here.”

Robert felt a lump in his throat as terror settled in his chest, but he swallowed around it and nodded before making his way through the gruesome garden of bone sculptures and to the ladder beneath the cottage. He took a deep breath and began his climb to the trap door at the base of the building that had no other doors or windows. He was just about to knock when the door swung open and he found himself quickly being hoisted inside. Inside the structure he found that though it seemed small on the outside, it was quite spacious on the inside. He looked up from where he was sitting on the rough wooden floor, to see Baba Yaga standing before him. She was skin and bones with long spindly fingers and a hooked nose. Her eyes seemed to gleam like hot coals and he began to fiddle with his fingers unconsciously as he felt nervous terror building within him. Baba Yaga’s voice was gruff and cracked, “Are you here of your own free will or by compulsion, my good youth?“ Robert moistened his lips with his tongue and replied, "Largely of my own free will, … and twice as much by compulsion.”

Baba Yaga smiled showing her sharp teeth, “That is a good answer. Tell me young one, what has brought you to my cottage?”

Robert lowered his eyes, not wanting to offend the woman by staring. “My true love’s spirit has been stolen and I am on a mission to get it back.”

Baba Yaga looked off at nothing, deep in thought. “So you are blessed.” She muttered under her breath. “Very well young one.” She extended her long, spindly hand toward him and in her palm, he spied an old-fashioned silver key with a skull as its turner. “This skeleton key will unlock any door, but magic always comes at a cost and the cost this magic asks is a painful one. For every time you use its magic, one of your bones will fracture.”

Robert swallowed hard and took the key, all the while keeping his eyes on the ground. “Thank you.” She waved him away and he quickly made his way down the trap door and back to Brigitte.

“So I see she didn’t kill ye, so I’ll take this as a win.” Brigitte held her hand out to Robert and began to usher him away from the grotesque flicker of the lights shining from within the spiked skulls. 

“She gave me a key, but it has a downside.” Robert shrugged as they made their way back into the forest. Brigitte sighed, “Ah well, most things do.”

She led him on until they came to a clearing where thick fog hung low on the ground and chilled breeze seemed to swoop low and move right through them. They stopped and hunched behind a couple of large trees. In the clearing they could see a fortress of dark stone that looked weathered and worn. The air here was damp and moss and algae covered the fortress and surrounding trees in splotches of green. Robert could hear the faint trail of screams coming from the fortress and the sound chilled him to the bone. Brigitte worried at her bottom lip as she thought over their next move. “It looks as if there isn’t much in the way of guards. I suppose they figure most folk would be tryin’ ta git oot rather than in.” Brigitte scanned the area, her eyes stopping on a cellar door on the side of the fortress. “Let’s go give that cellar a try.”

Robert followed closely behind her as they carefully ghosted over to the cellar door. A heavy iron pad lock held the doors firmly shut. Robert pulled out his key and took a deep breath. He turned the key in the lock and as the lock fell away, he felt his right ankle twist beneath him. He bit back the searing pain he felt and managed not to make a sound. Brigitte gave him an encouraging look and then supported him as they carefully climbed in to the cellar and felt their way down the slick, damp stairs in the dark. At the bottom of the stairs they found themselves in a room. As their eyes adjusted, Robert could see that they were in a root cellar of sorts. As he looked around in the dark, he saw a sliver of light coming from what must be a door to the inside of the fortress. Robert made his way to the door and peered through the crack into the lit corridor within. 

“Ye make a better door than a windae.” Robert turned toward the somewhat annoyed voice of Brigitte behind him. 

Robert hobbled aside, “Sorry.” 

Brigitte sighed and peered into the corridor. “Hmm. I think if we go out toward the left we’ll make are way to the dungeon. Then we need only find your lass.”

To Robert’s relief, they found that the door was unlocked and they quickly made their way toward the dungeon. All at once Brigitte pulled Robert into an alcove in the wall and placed a strong hand over his mouth. He breathed through his nose and tried to remain calm as he saw two large figures in long flowing black robes who seemed to be beings of pure darkness, glide by them leaving a freezing cold breeze in their wake. There seemed to be nothing solid about them, but somehow no light seemed to illuminate them. It was if they were black holes of hope. 

Once they had passed Brigitte whispered to him, “Those are dark spirits. They feed off despair, fear, and pain.” She pulled Robert back in to the corridor and through the archway that led into the dank dungeon. Water dripped from cracks in the ceiling. The only light was dim blue light that came in through a few scattered cracks in the stone walls. Fog hung low on the ground obscuring their feet. Sound seemed different in this place. The drips of the water and the sound of the wind sounded almost deafening in the darkness. They passed by cell after cell, each one holding a ghostly looking figure. Some looked like men and others like women. All of them seemed to be in pain of some kind. Some moaned, some screamed, and some wept. Finally, they made it to a cell at the very back of the dungeon. Inside he saw the outline of a very slight looking woman hunched in a corner with tears in her eyes. She wore a thin negligee and was shivering as she held her knees to her chest in the dark, foggy, tomb of a cell. “Belle!” Robert rushed to the cell bars and gripped them as if he could pull them away with will alone. 

Belle looked up with tear stained eyes and began to whimper, “You’re not real.”

Robert scrambled for the key in his pocket and unlocked the large cell door. He fought the urge to cry out, not wanting to alert the dark spirits to their escape, but still he couldn’t help but fall to the ground as hot tears bubbled forth from his eyes and a strangled scream left his lips. Brigitte made to help him up, but Robert practically flew into it the cell and slid into Belle on his knees. He held her in his arms tightly as he began to cry into her hair. 

Belle began to hold him back as she noted, “You’re warm. Nothing in this place is warm.”

Brigitte began to help them to their feet. Robert whispered to Belle, “We have to get out of here love.” As he struggled to support himself on his shattered ankle. 

Brigitte spoke then, “Aye we do. Hopefully before any of the dark spirits are the wiser.” She passed by them to a damp pile of straw in the corner of Belle’s cell. She shaped and molded it with her hands so it looked a bit like a seated figure, and then returned to Robert and Belle. Robert looked at the simple stand in and then to Brigitte in confusion. “What’s that supposed to be?”

Brigitte led them out and they carefully made their way back to the cellar. “That’s a double meant to leave the dark spirits thinking that they still have your Belle locked up.”

Robert shrugged, “But it looks nothing like her. It’s no more defined than a cardboard cutout.”

Brigitte smiled, “Aye, but their vision is not the best and when all is said and done a nod’s as guid as a wink tae a blind horse.” 

They made their way out the way they had come, and then made a mad dash into the forest as best they could with Robert’s battered ankle, but before too long, Robert could feel the freezing cold breeze of the dark spirits closing in behind them. Some of them must have seen them come up out of the cellar. He felt an ounce of relief when it seemed that the spirits were no longer following them once they entered the dark forest of whispering trees. They continued to run as best they could, but once again the trail became difficult as the trees became closer together and the ground became more uneven. Belle began to cry, “We’ll never get out of this place.” Robert held her hand firmly in his own as Brigitte continued to pull them along until finally they made it back to the clearing where Robert had first laid eyes on Madam Brigitte.

Brigitte turned and smiled at them both. “You’ve done it wean. Well done. Your bonnie lass is lucky to have ye. Now then. Off you both pop, and hopefully you won’t be returning to me fer a long time yet.”

With that said Robert and Belle woke up holding each other’s hands.

For a moment, they both lay there blinking. Had it all been a dream? It certainly was strange enough to have been one, but often reality is far stranger than fiction. They turned to face each other. Belle’s lips pulled into a smile and she was just about to tell Robert about her very vivid dream when they were interrupted by a warm and joyful female voice at the end of the bed. “Well done chile! Well done!” She smiled at Robert. She then made her way to Belle’s side. “I’m very glad to see you back in the land of the living little sister. Back where you belong, with your true love.”

Mama Odie then rose her hands and signaled for them to get up. “Come along now children. I think you would benefit from some homemade chicken soup. It will be good for your spirits. Oh, and I have a poultice waiting for you chile, to help with your ankle.” Robert nodded gratefully as Mama Odie swept out of the room. 

Belle was terribly confused, but Robert tried his best to fill her in on the details as she changed into a comfy pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They came down stairs and ate with Mama Odie. Belle expressed her thanks in a warm hug and then Mama Odie was off. 

Alone once again, they sat on the couch and sipped hot tea. Belle finally broke the silence, “Wow. So, it’s all real.”

Robert turned to her, “What’s all real?” Belle smiled, “All that stuff that you seem to believe in and I always told you was gobbledygook.”

Robert smiled, “As glad as I am to be vindicated, I wish it hadn’t been in such a terrifying, or painful way.”

Belle nodded in agreement. “I’ve already forgotten most of the details of that place, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling.”

Robert set down his cup and pulled Belle into his arms. Belle sighed against his chest, “I’ve never felt such dread and hopelessness before. And the worst part was that I knew that there was no escape from it. I’m not sure how I knew, but I knew.”

Robert sighed, “Well, just know that I would rather stay with you in hell then let you suffer it alone.”


End file.
